2014 Spring Roster Updates and the Scholarship Situation

Every year, we celebrate the beginning of the spring practice period for a number of reasons, chief among them being the release of the new, updated roster. Finally, we have a better look at the team as it will be (plus about 18 or so new freshmen in the summer, of course) going forward.  I am, of course, saddened to see a Baylor roster missing guys like Tevin Reese, Lache Seastrunk, Cyril Richardson, and Ahmad Dixon, all of whom played tremendous roles in the program during their time here, but we look now to a future for Baylor Football that has never looked brighter.

Without an older roster to compare, I can't be sure about the accuracy of the height/weight numbers, especially for younger guys with potentially significant growth left remaining.  For that reason, it's probably best to just assume those are not yet updated.  We also have a random Brody Trahan on the roster where we shouldn't; he is a senior this year and has exhausted his eligibility.

Beyond taking stock of who we've lost, the first thing I looked at tonight with this roster is the number at each position.  In doing so, I tried to eliminate walk-ons for the purpose of a reliable scholarship number.  We'll see how close it comes out:

QB (3): Petty, Russell, Johnson

No change here. We've gained a walk-on, it seems.

RB (5): Chafin, Jefferson, Linwood, Webb, T. Williams

No real change here, either.  Terence Williams enrolled in January and received #22.

WR (8): Fuller, Goodley, Hall, Hawthorne, Jones, Lee, Moore, Rhodes

Davion Hall is the only new name in this group from January enrollment.  He's listed as #16 (No pressure wearing Tevin's number, Davion).  When he arrives, Zamora brings this number to 9.

IR (2): Coleman, Norwood

I've been listing Hawthorne here based on last year's roster.  I expect this number will go up when K.D. Cannon and Chris Platt get here in the summer.  Pretty clear who the starters are, right?  Cannon will get a chance to make an impact quickly.

TE (3): Armstead, Feuerbacher, Penning

Our first position switch!  Tra'Von Armstead is now officially a tight end and #41.  Jordan Feuerbacher, the newcomer, is #85.

OL (11): Hilliard, Drango, Baker, Broxton, Colbert, Edwards, Fuller, McGowan, B. Muir, S. Muir, Osei

I added a couple of different categories together here rather than list OG (1) and OT (1).  Everybody else is potentially either one, apparently.  Hit the sidebar to see how I think it all shakes out.  My guess is we have something more like:

C: Fuller, Edwards, S. Muir
G: Hilliard, Broxton, McGowan, B. Muir, Osei
T: Drango, Baker, Colbert

Tyler Edwards and Blake Muir could move between center/guard and guard/tackle, respectively.

DT (8): Bonds, Billings, Blackshear, Brooks, Ezell, Masumbuko, Clemons-Valdez, Thrift

Again, I added the DL and DT categories since it seemed obvious we were talking about the same thing in both.  The only one that might potentially be a DT and DE is Tanner Thrift, and I know almost nothing about him other than his name.  And that he's #57, apparently.

DE (7): Magee, Nance, Oakman, Palmer, Smith, Tagive, Ukwuachu

Another position switch!  Javonte Magee is back after a semester gone from the program and is now back at DE.  This is important since he was definitely a DT before he left.

LB (6): Campbell, Hager, Edwards, Ehrlich, Phillips, Young

If they're giving Campbell Lackey's #5 jersey, they must be serious about him replacing ol' Eddie (not really). Xavier Phillips was once a DE/LB and is now a LB.

NB (3): Jupe, Davis, Griffin

Ah, NB, or as you might come to call it, "The thing Seymour will obsess about this spring."  We have two new names at this position since the last roster in Austin Jupe and Raaquan Davis.  Jupe is a former safety and Davis was previously listed as a LB.  I assume both will be battling to be Kiante Griffin's backup.

CB (6): Copeland, Howard, Reid, Stephenson, Wright, Sanders

Tuswani Copeland returns as a CB, and our two new JUCOs make their appearances.  Sanders will be #1, Wright #3.

S (7): Burt, Blanchard, Levels, Pullom, Sells, Singleton, Stewart

One or more of these guys is likely to be a corner at some point.  I thought Blanchard might eventually be a NB.  No real surprises here, though I had Terrance Singleton listed as a corner before.

P (1): Spencer Roth

K (1): Chris Callahan

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By my count, that's 32 offensive, 37 defensive, and 2 special teams players on scholarship at this exact moment.  Counting Dorsey as part of the class, we'll add 17 freshmen in the summer.  If Norwood is counted as a scholarship player, that puts us at 88.  I don't count Norwood for reasons we've discussed ad nauseum, so that's where I get my 87.

It's important to remember that attrition rarely happens at semester and doesn't generally need to; you've "lost" a significant number of players to graduation/the Draft and won't add the bulk of your new class until the summer.  Some of the guys you see on this roster may not remain.

What do you think?